Blood and Ash
by Shaleene
Summary: The blight has been Defeated, the heroes have dispersed and the new King of Ferelden is now faced with a new task. to investigate and destroy the remaining darkspawn threat in Amaranthine. M for game rating.
1. chapter 1 Prologue

Darrek Cousland/Ash Warrior. I am attempting to write a story about Darrek cousland during Awakening expansion... Wish me luck :P If anything looks wrong or out of place

please let me know, still fairly new to writing...please forgive the grammar. criticism is welcome good or bad.

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_He reached out and brushed a few golden locks from the assassin's face. "In case this is the last time we have to talk, I... I love you, Zevran." he said in a whispered voice and smiled._

"_Yes, yes I know." Zevran replied in a voice almost as low as the humans and smiled as he stood on his toes and kissed the ash warriors cheek._

"_Alistair, Morrigan, and Zevran. You're with me. Talon you too. The rest of you watch out backs and make sure no more darkspawn get through this gate. Sten, you lead the gate defenses."_

"Understood, fight well Warden."

"Fight well, Sten"

… ... ...

_His blade slid between the scales on the top of the dieing beasts large head. The beast shrieked as he twisted the blade. A blinding light shot up from the wound, and then all went black.. The hilt of his sword suddenly began to heat up he could feel the heat through his gauntlets, the metal became malleable in his grip. He heard a distant scream, or perhaps it was his own, he couldn't tell anymore. He could smell the flesh of his hands burning, just when he thought he couldn't hold it any longer he was thrown backwards hard. He landed on the cold stones and rolled slamming painfully into a wall. He heard the Antivan's voice calling to him, he felt those small familiar hands cradle him before everything faded to nothingness._

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_It took nearly a week for his sight to return, another for his wounds to heal. His hands had been the worst, he would forever have the burned scars on his palms as a reminder of that fateful day. But the demon was dead, and the country was rejoicing, so it was a small price to pay. He climbed out of bed quietly, careful not to wake his sleeping fiance Anora who had lain beside him every night since the battle. He slipped quietly through the halls to another private room. He pushed the door open and found...nothing. The room was empty, all the personal effects that had belonged to the assassin, as well as the assassin himself had been removed._

"_He left sometime yesterday night." A tired voice said from behind him. "I am sorry he did not tell you, I know he meant a lot to you."_

_Darrek turned and saw Anora standing there hugging herself, her eyes full of sadness and worry. Darrek smiled weakly and pulled the woman into his arms kissing the top of her head. "All for the best I suppose." He said trying to hide his pain and hurt, he felt Anora relax against him and heard the soft sight of relief escape her lips. _

_He had wanted Zevran to stay with him at least for a time despite Anora's complaints, but the assassin had left. Disappeared with no warning, no goodbye, just gone like a thief in the night. He loved them both, his assassin and his Queen. There would never be a doubt in anyone's mind who he had loved more, but that love had never been returned. Yes, this was for the best._

_... ... ..._

_He woke in a cold sweat sitting up panting as he hugged his burning hands to his chest. A soft hand reached out and touched his shoulder. He turned and smiled warily before looking down at the scars on __his hands, oh how he wished the nightmares would stop. His wife pulled at his shoulder until he relented and lay back against his pillows. He turned over on his side and smiled as he looked into her eyes, those beautiful sparkling eyes. They had married several months ago, a warm ferelden afternoon, he remembered how the sun came in through the high windows. How it made her hair shine like spun gold, much like it did with... He grabbed the woman and pulled her close, hugging her tightly against him and breathing him her sent hoping to chase away the pain of memories._

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"...wrong! SER! Are you listening?" The woman's voice screeched jarring him from his thoughts. "something is wrong! There is smoke coming from the keep!"

Darrek looked ahead and saw the woman was right. He spurred his horse forward as his hands reached up and behind him pulling both swords from their sheaths. When the horse bolted through the gates he kicked his right leg over and slid from the saddle. He was in a full sprint the moment his feet touched the ground. Ahead of him his sworn enemy was laying waste to the arling, _darkspawn_. An ash warrior battle cry rose from his throat as the battle rage surged through his body. As the first spray of warm blood covered his face he could swear he heard from deep within the keep the faint reply of the dwarven berserkers.


	2. Chapter 2 The Introductions

Bare-foot and half-naked the king ran out of the keep, blightblood gripped firmly in his left hand.

"I demand to know what is going on here."

"Stay back Sire, this man is a vile dangerous beast." The woman said sending her own talents toward the mage kneeling at her feet. The man yelled out in pain and toppled over gasping for air.

"Release him, now." He said stepping toward the bitter old Templar "He has been conscripted by the Grey wardens, you have no more business here or with him."

"no! I will not allow it, he will hang for what he has done!" The mage groaned painfully as the Templar sent out another mana drain against him.

Darrek grabbed the woman by the top of her breastplate and pulled her violently toward him. "You DARE question me?" He growled not an inch from her face. The smell of her made him want to shove her back, to both hate and pity her. She smelled of shit and lyrium, the scent of an old Templar not long for this world.

"I...n..no Sire, forgive me." She said through clinched teeth She was thrown back unexpectedly and stumbled, causing her to trip over her skirts and fall heavily to the ground.

He rose his arm pointing the tip of his sword down at the Templar "Get out of my keep, and if I see you here again I will not be so generous."

The templars collected their leader and quickly retreated toward the gates as the warrior knelt beside the mage.

"A Grey warden, that could work." The mage chuckled painfully as he was helped into a sitting position. "Thank you."

"I didn't do it for you Anders, I happen to find myself in desperate need of Grey Wardens. You are a mage as well as a healer, saving your life is just coincidence." He said as he helped the mage to his feet.

"Well, that put me in my place didn't it. ... Sire." He grumbled adding the last word with more then a little sarcasm.

Darrek just chuckled as he helped Anders back into the keep. This was already turning out to be a very long day, and it had only just begun.

"Sire." The guard bowed deeply as Darrek entered the small room. "Here he is, the thief safe and sound, and mostly unhurt." The guard smirked as he looked at the dark haired man sitting against the back wall of his cell.

"Leave us." Darrek demanded as he stared through the bars knowingly.

"I shall go fetch the Seneschal." The guard bowed again and left.

"And here I thought you would be to cowardly to come yourself Cousland, or is it King Cousland now."

"Nice to see you too Nate." Darrek's voice was dark and icy as he continuously reminded himself those dark orbs staring back at him were not Rendon, no matter how much they resembled him.

"So you do remember me." The man grunted in pain as he slowly gained his feet and limped over to the cell door.

"Why have you come here Nathaniel?" Darrek asked as he looked over the man's injuries, bruises, a few cuts, by the limp a sprain or two. He could not say he was sad to see the condition of the man before him, he was after all, a Howe.

"To kill you, to claim my families possessions. But mostly to kill you, you who murdered my father and cast down my family name. If I had been here..." His eyes bore holes into Darrek as he spoke.

"If you had been here you would have died right along side your father. He destroyed my family, my home, slaughtered every man woman and child in the castle. He got what he deserved." The warrior snarled.

"My father was a good man, he fought with the hero of river dane, fought against the Orlesians, along side the king. He was loyal to this country!" He yelled as his hand shot through the bars grabbing Darrek's thin Grey tunic and pulling him forward. "And you killed him for that, you who's family were traitors."

Though Darrek was on the verge of losing his patience he calmly removed Nate's fingers from his shirt and sighed, he was not in the mood for a moral debate with the man. He walked over to the lone desk in the room and pulled a key from the center drawer which he used to unlock the cell. "Take your things and get out of here. I don't want to see you again."

"You...are letting me go? What is to stop me from coming back and killing you?"

"Nothing." Darrek's jaw clenched and unclenched as he tried to control his anger toward the Howe.

Nathaniel glared at the warrior but said nothing more as he gathered his belongings and left silently out the door.

Darrek sighed as he sat down and waited for the Seneschal thinking to himself once again, this was going to be a very long day.

Two days, two sleepless days and nights, and Darrek was still hunched over the desk in his private room working by candle light. Repairs to the keep and armor outfitting had finally gotten underway at no small expense to his own private wealth, and he had lost seven out of the nine warden recruits. The Weisshaupt treasurer was constantly badgering him about the coffers, the Seneschal wanted a gathering of the nobles, his scouts had reported in with reports of Darkspawn...

A soft knock as his door swung open pulled his concentration from the missives. He looked up only to see Anora walk through the door . Her normal hard look melted into one of pure relief as her eyes fell upon the man sitting behind the desk.

"I feared the worst when I heard about the attack on the keep." She said as she all but ran across the room and fell against the man.

"I am fine, I cannot say the same for the Orlesian wardens however." He said gathering the woman in his arms and pulling her into his lap covering her face with soft touches and kisses.

Her hands explored his upper body as if she was unsure of the man's existence. "If I had known, I would never have asked you to come. You can't keep getting into these situations."

"If not me Anora, then who?" He said as his fingers rested under her chin and forced her head up to meet his eye. "This is my sworn duty, I am a warden."

"You are King now, and your duty is to the throne. Losing you would have a grave impact on the country." They both knew her words rang hollow.

Darrek chuckled as he stroked the woman's cheek. "One in the same, to protect my country I must fight this darkspawn intrusion." He placed a finger over her mouth to silence words he sensed coming. "We have spoken time and again about this Anora, and my answers never change."

"Just be careful, I do not want to lose you, Ferelden needs you."

"Come now Anora this is not like you, you ran this country in the shadows of a lesser king, you will run it when I am long dead. Do not pretend to be weaker then you are, that is not the woman I married and it will not be the woman I would have you become."

"You know me too well, you are right I fear losing you for my own selfishness. Before I met you I had no idea what I was missing. Knowing you see only me and not my father or my throne, knowing the love I give is returned, and that I won't find you in a servant girl's bed..." Her words cut off with a soft moan as Darrek's hand slid under her skirts.

Darrek chuckled as she fell limply against him "You know you are the only woman for me."

The phrasing of his words _the only __**woman **_had not been lost on her, but soon melted along with the rest of her thoughts in heated passion.


End file.
